Favourite Things

An Exercise in Curiosity

 There is a lot of difference while working on large sheets of paper with charcoal and when working on smaller squares of paper and graphite. While working with charcoal, I am standing at my desk, exerting pressure and practically hurling my entire body onto the paper, cutting, tearing, blending, coaxing...The complete opposite seems to be the state that I am in while completing these 13 illustrations for a story about barbaric Witch Hunts in India.I have posted two other illustrations for these in the previous post as well. 
While drawing these I have been seated at all times during the last two weeks in the same position and the only movement has been my wrist as it builds up layer upon layer of graphite on textured paper (Cretacolor 6B graphite on 180gsm precut Canson). The only sound is the kich kich kich kich as the lead moves while shading yet another area.

I took on this graphic novel kind of short story for The Big Picture in Mint, out of curiosity, to see whether I could do this, if I liked doing it and if I had the patience. This platform is a great one for amateur illustrators and writers and I only wish I had had something like this to work on in my early years as an illustrator. However for professional illustrators this is a wonderful way to try out and experiment with what they have never tried before as I am doing now. I directly began the fair work without rough sketches or planning because you are compelled to work at a fast pace. In this case unlike the highly professional editorial illustrations that I do which involves so much thought, planning and conceptualizing, a completely different mindset is required. It seems that here the illustrator is a tool rather than a voice.

Will I attempt this again? I am not sure. I find sitting chained to my desk for lengthy amounts of time exhausting and frustrating. Also, there is not much if any thinking at all for the illustrator because you are told what to draw. I found the trite visual interpretations given to me tiresome and while I did what was wanted of me for some of them, I also did what I wanted for others. If I do attempt something like this once more, the story will have to be a very good one. However I must say this, doing this has left me with nothing but admiration for illustrators of graphic novels, their patience and tenacity is to be lauded.

Outside, the Bangalore winter results in cloudy weather and beautiful diffused sunlight in which I took the first three pictures at my desk. Naturally my thoughts go back to last year especially when I see blog posts of friends in the midst of winter. Some of the pictures are beautiful, like this post from The Cassandra Pages and these haunting and moody pictures from the same blog.  Winter can be beautiful when you are looking at it in photographs.
But when I look at my own pictures like the one above (this is a color picture btw), I am reminded of how I removed my gloves, quickly took a picture and quickly, quickly put the glove back on again over my freezing hand at -20 degrees in Montreal last year beside the St. Lawrence river. Immigrating to Montreal too was an exercise I took (a mega exercise perhaps) to satiate my curiosity and yet again, I wonder how I ever did it all.

The Indian Witch Hunt

The Village Headman

'Tis the time's plague when madmen lead the blind.
~ Shakespeare

Bicycle Dreaming

Here is a section of the cover illustration I did for Mridula Koshy's upcoming book Bicycle Dreaming. The author requested the publishers to invite me to do the cover illustration. That is a nice thing to happen :)
From her first book launch that I attended in 2010, I know that Mridula leaves her audience enthralled, so if you are in Delhi, do save the date to attend the launch of her latest book. I am copying the invite sent by the author ~

My book, Bicycle Dreaming is going to press as we speak, and I want to invite you to the launch on Friday, January 29 at IIC. I can promise you good conversation, tea and samosa. There will be an after party, of course, with details to follow.

A little bit about Bicycle Dreaming, a story set in working class Chirag Dilli:

Noor turns thirteen on the first page of the book; we leave her at fourteen on the last page. In between, she falls in right and wrong love, comes apart, together, and apart again from her family. We, the readers of the story, take measure of how much we know about happiness and wholeness in relationship: where does it come from, how do we account for it, and when the bottom falls out from under us, how do we survive our unheroic stories?

17/04/2016
This is my version of the cover design for Bicycle Dreaming -

Deepalaya Community Library and Reading Project

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And the days that I keep my gratitude higher than my expectations, 
I have really good days.
~ RWH

Helping Hands

If there was any one consistent factor that characterized my adventures on the other side of the world it is this - time and again I felt that I was hanging by a hair's breadth and clinging for dear life on the edges of all kinds of strange cliffs when someone or the other would extend a helping hand and steadily haul me upward and onto safe and solid ground once more. This is a drawing to remind me of those moments and to remind myself that however inconvenient it is for me, when someone needs my help I must extend that helping hand. It is such acts of kindness that makes the world go round.

My entire life can be described in one sentence: It didn’t go as planned, and that’s okay.
~ Rachel Wolchin

A New Philosophy

Whenever I come across the beautifully worded truths written by Buddhist monks and the virtually omnipresent Rumi I pause and contemplate these philosophies and decide with my hand on my heart that I must, must, must adopt them into every moment of my life. Unfortunately, there is usually a new beautiful philosophy presenting itself on Facebook every single day. And then there is the fact of real life and real people to deal with in a real world. I find that at such times my brain can hardly sift through a dozen peace poems or twenty Rumi quotes that I saw this week already. BUT, during very such times I find myself totally embracing an unforgettable philosophy that has worked miracles in my life since 2012. It has eliminated the *&%# and brought in fresh, sparkling energy. I have decided to share it here not because I give a **** about those who will be shocked but because I feel it partners very well with the ship picture above and I frantically needed a convincing new year philosophy after I came up with that damn title. So here it is! Onward to new philosophies then!

The Subtle Art of Not Giving a Fuck